A lack of parking is slowing the revitalization of the historic building formerly known as Turn's Bushkill General Store at the corner of Route 209 and Bushkill Falls Road.

Vacant since 2005, the landmark building was sold this summer to V.P. Diamond Homes, a Dingmans Ferry building and restoration company owned by Anthony and Vanessa Palma. They plan to keep the historic look of the building and are considering a number of options.

The building is in Lehman Township's village commercial zone and is appropriate for a number of different uses. The use will determine the exact number of parking spaces required, but any use other than residential will require more parking than the property has.

Without enough parking, the building cannot be developed.

The large gravel parking lot next to the building looks like it belongs with the property, but it is owned by the National Park Service. The building takes up most of the land, leaving just seven feet on one side of the building and about 20 feet on the other — not enough for a parking lot.

The Palmas met informally with township officials this week to discuss the parking issue. The National Park Service wrote a letter allowing the use of the parking lot but the township will not accept that because if the NPS decides to end that offer down the road, the building would then lack appropriate parking.

The Palmas are considering demolishing a portion of the building on the side and in the back to create a parking area. This way, a portion of the building can be preserved.

The Bushkill Community Church, which does not have a building, has expressed an interest in buying the completed building or leasing it from V.P. Diamond Homes, Anthony Palma said. In addition to the church, a coffee shop in the back is envisioned as a possible idea.

The company wants to work with the township to make the property usable, and then move forward with revitalization.

The former owner BGS Associates ran into the same parking snafu when it attempted to convert the building into doctors' offices. The company owed $48,000 in property taxes.

With mounting unpaid taxes, the Pike County Tax Claim Bureau put the property, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, on the auction block. Bidding started at $14,500. The Palmas bought it for $28,000.

The general store was built in two sections, according to federal records. The first section was built around 1837, with a front addition built in 1916. In 1914, the Turn family bought the store, and three consecutive generations operated the business until it was sold in the 1990s after a period of financial problems.

An adjoining tinsmith's shop, also dating to around 1837, featured a two-story frame structure on a fieldstone foundation. The tinsmith portion will be demolished for parking unless another solution to the parking problem is discovered.